Tom Rideout

The Honourable Tom Rideout
4th Premier of Newfoundland
In office March 22, 1989 – May 5, 1989
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Lieutenant Governor	James A. McGrath
Preceded by	Brian Peckford
Succeeded by	Clyde Wells
MHA for Baie Verte-Springdale
In office October 9, 2007 – June 30, 2008
Preceded by	Paul Shelley
Succeeded by	Kevin Pollard
In office September 16, 1975 – October 1, 1991
Preceded by	New District
Succeeded by	Harold Small
MHA for Lewisporte
In office February 9, 1999 – October 9, 2007
Preceded by	Melvin Penney
Succeeded by	Wade Verge
Personal details
Born	Thomas Gerald Rideout (1948-06-25) June 25, 1948 Fleur de Lys, Newfoundland
Political party	Progressive Conservative (1982-present)
Other political affiliations	Liberal (1975-1982)

Thomas "Tom" Gerald Rideout (born June 25, 1948) is a former Canadian politician who served as the fourth premier of Newfoundland from March 22, 1989 to May 5, 1989.

Life and career

Born in Fleur de Lys, Newfoundland, Rideout was first elected to the provincial House of Assembly in the 1975 general election as a Liberal but left the party in 1980 to join the Progressive Conservative government of Premier Brian Peckford in its fight with Ottawa for control of offshore petroleum resources. Rideout became minister of culture, recreation and youth in 1984 and became minister of fisheries in 1985. With Peckford's retirement from politics in 1989, Rideout was chosen Tory party leader and thus became premier of Newfoundland. One month later at the 1989 provincial election, the Progressive Conservatives narrowly won a higher percentage of votes than the Liberal Party led by Clyde Wells, but the Liberals won the most seats and Wells replaced Rideout as Premier. Rideout remained Leader of the Opposition until October 1991 when he left politics for a federal appointment as a member of the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada.

Rideout attempted a political comeback in the 1993 federal election, running as the Progressive Conservative candidate in Gander—Grand Falls, but was defeated by Liberal incumbent George Baker.

In 1997, he obtained his law degree from the University of Ottawa, and was called to the Newfoundland bar in 1998.

In 1999, he re-entered public life, and was elected as a Progressive Conservative Member of the House of Assembly for the district of Lewisporte. He was re-elected in 2003, when the PC Party formed the government. He was appointed Minister Responsible for Aboriginal Affairs and Minister of Works, Services & Transportation (the name of which was later changed to Transportation and Works). In addition to these portfolios, Rideout served as acting Minister of Health and Community Services from September 27 to October 1, 2004. On November 8, 2005, Rideout was appointed Minister of Fisheries and Deputy Premier. In the 2007 general election he switched districts and ran in Baie Verte-Springdale, the district he had represented in the House of Assembly from 1975 until 1991.

On May 21, 2008, Rideout tendered his resignation as Deputy Premier, Government House Leader and Minister of Fisheries in the provincial government, in a dispute with the Premier's Office over road funding in his electoral district of Baie Verte-Springdale. On June 30, 2008, Rideout resigned from politics altogether, tendering his resignation as a Member of the House of Assembly.

In 2017, Rideout endorsed Ches Crosbie in the 2018 provincial PC leadership race.